HTC One vs iPhone 5s

Although the HTC One is an older model, outdone by the newer HTC One M8, it still packs a punch. In this comparison we’re going to see how the HTC One fares against Apple’s most recent iPhone 5s.

While the iPhone 5s 16Gb model costs $649.00 unlocked and the 32GB model costs $749.00; the HTC One 32GB only costs $549.00. Because of this interesting price point it’s a good idea to compare between these phones to see what the best choice is for you.

If you only use your phone for communication and media consumption then you should seriously consider the HTC One over the iPhone 5s.

Design and Weight

Both the iPhone 5s and the HTC One have metal bodies that look and feel great. Both of these phones also don’t have removable back cases or batteries.

The HTC One has a cool design feature when it comes to its speaker placement though. Whereas the iPhone 5s only has speakers in the bottom edge of the phone, the HTC One has speakers on the top and below its screen. This placement really helps directing audio to where it matters most: your face.

A disadvantage to putting the speakers on the front is that water or debris could enter through the sound-holes. But they are small enough that anything should just roll over instead of fall through.

Other than that, these phones are about tied in design and quality.

The iPhone 5s weighs 3.95oz while the HTC One weighs 5.04oz. When it comes to dimensions, the HTC One is 5.41 x 2.69 x .37 inches and the iPhone 5s is 4.87 x 2.31 x .30.

One would think that a bigger screen size requires a thicker and heavier phone, but that’s not normally the case with Android devices. It’s not clear why the HTC One is so much bulkier than other phones in its range, such as the S4 for example, but it’s something to keep in mind when considering to buy it.

If your ideal phone should take up little space in your pocket and not weigh a lot then the HTC One is not an optimal phone.

Display

Where the HTC One fails in thickness it makes up in its display quality which happens to be 4.7 inches with a pixel density of 468ppi and a resolution of 1920 x 1080.This screen is much better than the iPhone 5s’s 4-inch screen that only has a pixel density of 326ppi and a resolution of 1136 x 640.

Internet browsing and media consumption is going to feel a whole lot better on this larger screen than with the iPhone 5s.

Camera

The iPhone 5s’ 8-megapixel camera is obviously going to out-do the HTC One’s 4-megapixel camera. Interestingly enough though, the HTC One has a 2.1-megapixel front facing camera while the iPhone 5s only has a 1.2-megapixel one.

The photo below sums off the rear camera quality of these phones. It’s clear that the HTC One’s camera isn’t going to be the best for taking beautiful photographs. But it’s up to you, your needs, and your budget if the iPhone 5s is worth it just for the camera boost.

Processors and RAM

The iPhone 5s takes the lead with its processing power: a dual-core 64-bit 1.3GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. Although the HTC One’s quad-core 1.7GHz processor with 2GBs of RAM seems like it would outperform the 5s, it does not.

With the HTC One you’re getting a lot of hardware power but Android isn’t as optimized as iOS. The conclusion here is that the iPhone 5s performs much better with graphic and processing intensive apps because it has been optimized to do so.

For casual phone users this means nothing to them. Unless you play high-end mobile games or use processing intensive apps (think simulations or video editing), then the HTC One is enough for regular usage.

Special Perks

The iPhone 5s has a fingerprint scanner that can be used for unlocking the phone as well as for making iTunes purchases without entering a password. Other than that this fingerprint feature is overhyped and gets old quickly. It would be much better if you could lock messages or important apps with your fingerprint; but has Apple decided that this feature wouldn’t be a good use of the fingerprint scanner. Oh Apple…

The iPhone 5s also lets you shoot slo-mo video at 120 frames per second whereas the HTC One caps out at 60 frames per second. Unless you shoot video of events where you want slo-motion video captured, then this is another feature that isn’t really going to make a difference.

The HTC One has NFC compatibility and can be used as a remote control for TVs and cable boxes.

Conclusion

The HTC One seems like it would be a good phone to get if you’re already comfortable with Android and want an affordable upgrade. Getting a HTC One if you’re looking for a high-end experience or are leaving Apple devices is not a good idea though. While it has enough processing power to get you through the usual grind of the day, it may not hold out as a good phone for the next two years.

The iPhone 5s is well worth the investment if you plan on selling your phone in two years from now, because it has a much higher resale value. We just couldn’t recommend getting the HTC One over the 5s because it doesn’t provide the user with the greatest experience Android has to offer. Considering the purchase of an affordable Nexus 5 or S4 might make more sense if you’re trying to save money and get your buck’s worth. In fact, the Nexus 5 and S4 are in the same price range as the HTC One yet somehow offer twice as much value.